Steroline S7 drabbles
by beginningtogo
Summary: A series of drabbles I wrote to fill in some of the gapping plot holes in Steroline's S7 SL plus a couple of early S8 drabbles. Originally published on Tumblr, they are now in rough chronological order.
1. 7x05

**AN: This is the off screen convo about Stefan and Valerie's baby. Of the all the heinous crimes Caroline Dries committed on this fandom, this is one of the worst. I decided it took place in 7x05.**

The couch in the Lockwood living room was never going to be the most comfortable place to sleep, but that wasn't the reason Stefan couldn't drop off. Valerie's earlier news had knocked him for six and he felt completely off kilter. He rose and rooted out a bottle of Tyler's expensive Scotch. After five generous measures, it became clear that sublimation wasn't going to work; all he had achieved was to add a roiling stomach to his roiling mind. He needed to talk to someone.

Caroline.

She was the only person he needed to speak to, wanted to speak to.

He regretted promising Valerie that he wouldn't tell, but this was Caroline; they shouldn't have secrets between them. His days of hiding the darkest parts of himself were over. He made a decision there and then. He grabbed his phone, his leather jacket and car keys and vamped out of the door.

The little red Porsche speed through the darkness. Ignoring the speed limit, he could always compel his way out of a ticket, Stefan gripped the wheel, his knuckles white, a grim expression on his face. Committing yet another traffic violation, he picked up his phone and dialled.

"Hello?" Caroline answered, voice husky with sleep.

"Hey. Is Bonnie there tonight?" He cut straight to the chase.

"Err, no. She made herself scarce for our date today."

"Good. Can I come over?"

"Stefan, it's 1AM, I'm tired and I'm…. I'm honestly not feeling that friendly towards you at the moment."

"Caroline, please, I need you."

It wasn't so much his words that made her sit up, but the tone of his voice. It had an edge, an edge that spoke of tension, of spiralling out of control, of Stefan teetering on a precipice. As his best friend, she picked up these subtle cues. She was officially worried "Okay. Stefan are you okay?"

"Fine," He lied. "I'll be with you in about an hour. Are you hungry?"

"A bit. Drive safe." Realising she wouldn't be getting any sleep, she went and put some coffee on.

Pulling into the Whitmore car park, Stefan started to doubt himself. The burger and fries he had picked up for them suddenly felt pathetic. Liz Forbes would be looking down on him shaking her head at his poor first date behaviour, no flowers, no fancy tablecloths, 7 hours late; he sucked as a future son in law. He pulled himself together and let himself into Caroline's dorm.

He had expected her to be asleep in bed, but she surprised him with a mug of fresh coffee and a hug. The feeling of her arms around him relaxed him and he sighed into her hair.

"I brought burgers, yours has extra pickles. Sorry, this isn't what you were expecting for tonight." His voice was croaky with emotion.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan." She replied and at that moment, it really didn't. There were clearly more important things on his mind. They sat down to their food; Caroline, surprised at how ravenous she felt, ate all her food and half of his. Stefan ate sparingly, his mind elsewhere. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Caroline hoped he would cut to what was bothering him, but he didn't. She started to worry, maybe something had happened with Valerie? Nothing he had ever told her in the past had hinted at her existence. She had read Stefan's diary and dismissed Valerie as a one night stand gone wrong, nothing more; 1860s Stefan had a flair for Victorian melodrama. Besides Damon had gone along with them and had been on her side, a freaky miracle of nature, she could barely process.

Stefan felt the mounting tension in Caroline. That, in turn, made him panicky. His veins itched, a sure sign he was in a bad way. This shouldn't affect him, it happened 150 years ago, but the trajectory of his life could have been so different and that unsettled him. He took several deep calming breaths before speaking, he had been able to fake calm with Valerie earlier, but with Caroline, the words tumbled out, a disjointed mess. "I have to kill Julian. Valerie tried to burn his body, he's alive and he'll come for her."

"Why is that your problem?" Caroline's eyes narrowed to slits.

"You aren't supposed to know this, I promised I wouldn't tell." Stefan scrubbed his hand through his hair. Breaking an oath was not something a gentleman should contemplate doing, but given his previous murderous behaviour, "gentleman" probably wasn't a moniker he was entitled to. "I got Valerie pregnant in 1863." He continued. "Julian found out and beat her until…. well you can imagine the rest. Lily doesn't know, she sent Valerie to check I was okay, not to get involved. Although honestly, I think it might be better if she knew. And I need to kill Julian because Valerie's in danger and he took away my one chance to be a father."

Caroline was agog. The situation was heart breaking for him. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I don't know what to say. I know how much you want to be human, to have a family." Memories of his and Elena's traveller induced dream visions came flooding in; she pushed them back, contemplating her situation. Children had not been on her agenda. Getting married, sure; kids, the idea had freaked her out, she was young and had had her whole future ahead of her to worry about that, until she died and then it wasn't an option.

"So how are we going to kill Julian?" She quickly changed the subject.

"This isn't your fight, Caroline. I can't have you put yourself in harm's way, not for this. I'll rope in Damon; he needs an outlet for his murderous rage. Our mother's boyfriend would seem like the ideal target." He looked away, pained at the complete mess his family was and been for the best part of two centuries.

"I want to help you, Stefan, please let me." She squeezed his hand, her eyes pleading with him to let her in.

"I know, but you're still trying to process your own grief, Caroline. I don't want to add to that, but I could really do with the moral support, more than anything. You're an expert sober sponsor and I'm a selfish ripper bastard after all."

"You're not!" She exclaimed, hating how down on himself he could be. "Stefan, this is a massive deal. I mean in another life Katherine wouldn't have come to town and well…." The implication of what she was saying dawned hard on her.

"You're right. I would have married Valerie, had a child, lived a human life and be dead and forgotten by now, a corpse in the Salvatore tomb. I would have been okay with that."

"Do you regret not having that life and becoming a vampire?" Caroline asked.

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no." He answered honestly. "I mean during my dark times, I spent years regretting my existence. I would have loved to have a family of my own, that's something I do grieve over. But I have also been lucky enough to do things I never dreamt possible and to have people in my life who have made my life worthwhile. I mean how can I regret becoming a vampire when it brought me here, to you." He pulled her into his arms, feeling a lot calmer for having told her. He gently brushed his lips against hers.

His confession, sweet, innocent and unassuming, brightened Caroline's soul. She had been worried about Valerie, more than she cared to admit. Becoming a vampire hadn't stopped her feeling second best, but it had helped her hide it better. She relaxed into his embrace, savoring the feeling of him against her.

"Look, Caroline." He whispered between kisses. "I would be grateful if you could play dumb about this. I really shouldn't have said anything. Valerie is at the Lockwood Mansion right now." She pulled away from him, giving him a sharp look. "In one of the guest bedrooms! I didn't have the heart to send her away tonight, but she needs to run. Maybe you could help her with a plan?"

"Oh, I have no problem with that, no problem at all. We'll get started first thing tomorrow, but first…" She ran her fingers up through his hair and kissed him deeply, losing herself in him.


	2. 7x09

**AN: The following conversation occurs between Stefan and Caroline after Stefan has discussed Caroline's pregnancy with both Lily and Damon (after 7x09).**

Caroline rested herself back against the headboard of Stefan's bed, well Stefan's temporary bed, in one of the Lockwood mansion's many spare bedrooms. She was glad that it wasn't weird, no weirder than rest of her life at the moment. She touched her hand to her stomach as she felt a flutter. The twins' movements were getting more frequent, soon they would be kicking. She wouldn't be able to hide her bump for much longer which would lead to questions she really didn't know the answer to. How do you explain a forced, magical surrogacy to the human students of Whitmore?

She looked up to see Stefan in the doorway, holding a breakfast tray complete with a single bright pink daisy, a pensive expression on his face. She hastily pulled her hands away from her belly, feeling strangely guilty.

"I made breakfast." Stefan pointed out, somewhat unnecessarily, trying to break the tension. "As per your latest craving - pancakes, eggs and bacon, plus coffee and some B+."

"Yummy, I'm starving." Caroline smiled, a little tentatively. She set the tray on her lap and dug in, enjoying the fact that Stefan was a damn good cook. He slid onto the bed, snuggling next to her, sipping his coffee. She offered him a forkful of pancake which he ate looking into her eyes, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. She grinned back at him, the mood in the room considerably lighter.

Breakfast finished, Stefan placed the tray on the bedside table and mentally braced himself for the conservation the two of them needed to have. His hand had strayed to her hair and he caught himself nervously twisting her curls through his fingers. He took a deep breath.

"How's everything going?" He asked, his eyes sweeping downwards towards her stomach hoping she would catch his drift.

"Fine. I'm constantly hungry and tired, but okay." She looked into his eyes, hoping that she had said the right thing. He gave a small nod, so she continued. "I have been feeling movements, flutters. I wasn't sure at first, but it's definitely baby related."

"It's not too weird for you?" Stefan winced at his choice of words; for someone who was so good at getting things down on paper, he could be such a dolt when it came to the spoken language.

"Not too weird." Caroline replied, she was okay with weird, it really did cover all bases.

"And how are you feeling about the future?" Stefan queried.

"Well, the birth might not be all that fun, but at least my C-section scar will heal quickly." She joked, weakly.

"Caroline," Stefan fixed his serious vampire look on her. "What about after? Have you thought about where you might fit into their lives?"

"They're Ric's kids, Stefan. Nothing to do with me." She tried not to look at him.

Stefan's eyes narrowed, she was avoiding and it made him instantly suspicious, but he wanted to tread carefully. He tried to keep his next comment light hearted. "You remember Alaric, the borderline alcoholic, is my brother's best friend, right? I can't imagine what mischief they'll get into if Uncle Damon is left in charge." Stefan realised he sounded pissyier than he would have hoped.

"Ric's their dad, Stefan, of course he'll do right by them." Caroline tried to sound indignant, but her own unvoiced worries were too close to the surface. "Anyway, I'm a college student, I want to finish my course, go to parties and star in the summer production. I want to make out with my hot vampire boyfriend. I don't see how being a mom fits into that."

He put his hands up in surrender. "I understand that, Caroline, and while I'm particularly interested in the 'making out with your hot vampire boyfriend' part of your life plan, I would support you if you felt differently and wanted to be there for them. You wouldn't need to be their mom, but cool aunt Caroline has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He gently took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb lightly over her knuckles.

Caroline smiled. "It does," she replied, looking down at their entwined hands, lost in thought.

"I know you never asked for this." He continued, "and honestly, I admire how well you're coping with the situation. I'm sorry if I've let my own issues cloud my judgement. You don't have to decide anything now; you've got a few more months."

"Well, twins do have a tendency to come early. Are you okay with all of this?" She queried.

Stefan hesitated; he could lie, tell her everything was okay, but he didn't want to. "Some days, I wish that it was you and I having these babies." Caroline looked up sharply at Stefan; he looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, I get it; we aren't really ready for that type of commitment, just yet." He grinned at her. "Hence why the other days, I just wish I had scooped you up and dragged you kicking and screaming away from that wedding."

"Maybe it's my punishment for my humanity-less murder spree?"

"Seems a little harsh." Stefan smiled. "Eighteen years of bringing up a couple of brats."

"Hey." She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "My children won't be brats!"

Stefan raised his eyebrows slightly in a questioning manner.

"Okay, okay. I get your not-so-subtle point, Mr Salvatore. I'll think about it." With that, Caroline decided that she had had enough talking and lent over, pulling Stefan into a deep kiss. She was going to take advantage of being at the horny stage of pregnancy and from the way, Stefan was kissing her back she was sure that he wasn't going to deny her, her latest craving.

On the run - Chapter 1

Ok, so the last few episodes of TVD aside, S7 has made the Steroline shipper in me is angry, very angry. I'm so pissed off with what we've got and rubbish we have had to endure - Valerie, Alaric, mystical pregnancies, Julian, JP and the great SL switch…. This season has felt like my own personal hellstone adventure so as catharsis, I'm going to write a fanfic about Steroline on the run and sort out some of JP'S damn plot holes. This fic might be a complete mess so I apologise in advance. Oh and I'm not American so although I'll try my best not to make any glaring cultural errors, please feel free to these point out if I do.


	3. 7x12 Flashback

**AN:** **This occurs during the 7x12 flashbacks, Damon is still in the stone, but Stefan is out and a bit of a mess. Steroline pregnancy fluff. Enjoy!**

It was Janelle's first day working at the ultrasound clinic at Whitmore Hospital, her first day as a sonographer full stop. When she had completed her course, her colleagues had been shocked that she got a job back in her sleepy, studenty home town rather than a big city. Janelle was a natural, great with both expectant mothers and fathers, although she could be somewhat over exuberant at times, a trait she worked hard to rein in.

Morning clinic completed, she sat back in her chair, enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done. Her boss, Andrea, had gone easy on her making sure she was only lightly booked. She checked her patients for the afternoon on the computer in front of her. If anything, she had even fewer women to see. Fine by her, it was nice to take your time as the parents listened to their babies' heartbeats and started bonding.

A knock at the door roused her from her daydreaming.

"Come in," She called.

Andrea's head appeared around the door. "How was this morning?" She asked.

"Good. I think I'm going to enjoy working here."

"That's great." Andrea replied. "Look I'm really sorry, I wondered if you could see another patient this afternoon. Normally I wouldn't ask it being your first day and all, but Carl's gone home sick and we really don't want to cancel his patients. I'm trying to spread the load, but they are all twin moms so I've picked out the least high risk for you: Caroline Forbes. She's lovely, but she's kind of a control freak and asks a whole heap of questions. Would that be okay?"

"Honestly, Andrea, it's fine. Whatever I can do to help."

"You're a star. Thank you. Now go get yourself some lunch. You're going to need it."

"Caroline Forbes," Janelle called out to the packed waiting room.

A beautiful blond woman with the most perfect bump stood up, followed by an equally stunning brown haired guy with piercing green eyes. They looked like they had walked straight out of a magazine, but whereas she had a massive smile on his face on her face, he looked anxious, jittery, deep frown lines etching his forehead.

"Come on through," Janelle opened the door and gestured them into the ultrasound room. She introduced herself and explained the reason for today's scan, 28 weeks wasn't part of the standard schedule, but twins received extra scans to monitor their growth.

"Any questions?" Janelle asked.

"None." Caroline replied brightly and hopped up onto the couch. The man didn't say a word, his right hand twitching almost uncontrollably. Janelle noticed his ring, vintage style with a large blue stone which matched the one Caroline wore. Unusual, she thought, but rather sweet.

"Do you want to come a bit closer, Mr Forbes?" She asked.

His eyebrows furrowed deeper. She realised she had made a mistake, they weren't married. Before she could start grovelling, he cut her off, his voice formal, yet surprisingly warm. "Please call me Stefan," he paused. "Mr Forbes was my father."

The feeling of tension in the room dissipated as Stefan sat down at his wife's side and gently laced his fingers through hers. As he brought her hand to his lips, a look of silent communication passed between them and his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Right, let's get started." She rubbed a blob of gel onto Caroline's bump and started working the probe over it. She focused in on twin number one, quickly switching on the sound so the parents could hear the reassuring heartbeat. She then moved onto twin two.

She normally liked to concentrate on mom during scans, but as Caroline's eyes were locked on Stefan, Janelle took her cue from her and turned to him. "Exciting isn't it?"

"It's like magic." He proclaimed.

This seemed to tickle Caroline who started to giggle. Stefan's face moved from questioning to shock to helpless laughter in slow motion. They both paused, another silent message passing between them before Janelle noticed a solitary tear sliding down his face. She was suddenly overwhelmed with an urge to leave the room, something she normally wouldn't do, but the feeling was too strong to resist. She closed the door softly behind her.

"Caroline" Stefan admonished. "You shouldn't have compelled her."

"No. I should never have brought you here." She replied, burying her head in her hands. "This is just too weird."

"You shouldn't have to come to appointments alone. As Alaric couldn't, it's my duty to accompany you."

"I lied earlier." She mumbled into her hands.

"I heard that, vampire hearing and all. What did you lie about?" He gently removed her hands from her face, urging her to look up.

"I made this appointment knowing Ric couldn't make it."

"Why?"

"Look I don't miss being human, but occasionally I just want to feel human again, even if it's just for an afternoon. And I wanted to feel that with you. Especially with all this post – hell, Phoenix stone crap that's been going on recently. Although I must be the dumbest vampire out there because I chose your most triggering possible scenario to play at being human."

"You finished?" Stefan asked, she nodded. "Good because I need you to know that I'm happy to play human once in a while, that I'm happy to attend every appointment and scan. Without you, I probably would have rippered out, murdered most of Virginia by now and scorched my brother's body so consider this my way of saying thank you for being there and for being the only constant in my life."

"Still, it was kinda stupid bringing you here."

"I dream about him sometimes."

"Who Damon?" Caroline looked confused. "I know, but they seem more like nightmares to me."

"Jacob" He replied.

The penny dropped for Caroline and she pulled him into a hug. It was awkward due to her position on the couch, her bump and the fact she was covered in ultrasound gel, but it had the desired effect, taking away some of his pain. He bent his head down into her hair, inhaling her scent.

After a few moments, Stefan pulled away, gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and stood up.

"I need to get that poor girl back, so she can finish your scan and let her get to her other patients who are probably annoyed at being kept waiting."

Caroline jumped up, wiping the gel off her and pulling down her top. "I don't need a scan. I can hear their heartbeats and feel them growing."

"Come on then, let's go home."

With that, the two of them joined hands and left the building. Outside, Caroline stopped and pulled him close. "So Stefan Forbes has a nice ring to it." She murmured.

"Hey, the feminist in me has no problems taking your name. I marched for women's suffrage in 1870s remember? Susan B Anthony and I were like that." He held up his crossed fingers, grinning. "Besides, you and I will need to reinvent ourselves in a few years so Stefan Forbes, it is."

Caroline looked up at him "You're an idiot."

"I'm your idiot." He replied, a huge smile on his face.

Janelle spotted Caroline and Stefan holding hands in the car park, looking completely loved up. She ran out of the door, terrified she would get into trouble for letting a patient walk out during an examination, but they had disappeared.

She went despondently to Andrea, ready to confess her neglect. She sat in her office and started to tell her what happened. Andrea listened in silence until Janelle started to describe Stefan.

"That's not her husband." Andrea pointed out.

"Oh really? He must be her partner then." Janelle replied, embarrassed at her earlier faux pas.

"He's not the babies' father. She usually comes with a blond guy, funny name, I can never remember."

Janelle looked at her, curious to see her straight forward no nonsense boss looking somewhat confused.

"The guy with the green eyes." Andrea continued. "He comes too, he just waits in the waiting room and disappears when they come out."

Janelle felt to chill run through her, her memory cloudy with the day's events. She felt like she needed a cup of coffee or a good night's sleep. She dragged herself back to ultrasound room and flicked through Caroline's records. She wasn't surprised to find only her name, an expected due date and the fact that she was expecting fraternal girl twins were noted. Everything else was blank. Realising she needed to get back to work, she let it slide. She did, however, cling onto the hope that one day she would find someone who looked at her like Stefan looked at Caroline.


	4. TVD 7x20 Flashback

AN: Basically I have no idea why Caroline didn't visit her mum's grave on the anniversary of her death. It makes no sense so I decided to correct that. Also I don't give a damn about Matt and Penny, sorry.

As the sun rose in the east, Stefan moved silently through the Mystic Falls graveyard. He ignored the numerous Fells, Gilberts, Lockwoods and Salvatores buried there, making his way to a small unassuming stone.

Elizabeth Forbes, the stone read, mother and protector of this town.

A wave of sadness flooded over him. He had been fond of Liz, not only because she was Caroline ' s mom, but also a friend to his brother, Damon.

Caroline.

The thought of her still knocked the breath from his body. His head was was filled with her vanilla scent, her beautiful smile and the feeling of his hands running through her blonde hair.

Caroline. The reason for his return to Mystic Falls.

The reason he was defying Matt and coming home.

Because today was the anniversary of Liz's death.

Also the day he had first kissed Caroline.

The tears came, but didn't fall. He blinked them back. The memory of that perfect moment at the most imperfect time. At the time, he had kicked himself for his impulsiveness, but now given the few brief months they had had together, he revelled in the memory as he often did.

Stefan ' s eyes travelled to the flowers in his hands - a bunch of Calla Lillies - which placed on the grave. He had planned on sunflowers, but their bright yellow heads seemed somehow too brash. The lillies suited his sombre mood. It wasn't until he was back in his little red Porsche hurtling along the highway that he realised what his subconscious was trying to say about death and his own mother. While Lily ' s death was sad, Stefan had been allowed a second chance. He had been able to finally come to terms with her loss; he had closure. Caroline hadn't had that luxury. He knew she would still be feeling raw and wounded and that was why he was here. He hoped she would come.

Stefan rose up, scouted around for a comfy looking tree and slid down tiredly. He would wait all day if he had to. He slipped a grubby paperback from his back pocket and settled down to read "Love in the time of cholera" for the third time.

It was getting dark when Caroline Forbes appeared in the graveyard. She had driven all night and all day to get here. She had argued with Alaric about coming; he had told her it was too dangerous. They argued about pretty much anything not related to Lizzie and Josie. Caroline felt utterly trapped. She loved the twins more than anything, but her heart still hankered after Stefan.

Despite the fact, he was a jerk who had run off without saying a word.

With Valerie of all people.

Tears threatened, but she pushed them back.

Caroline had replayed their last conversation in her mind a thousand times. She had been dazed and not thinking straight. She cringed when she realised that she had described a couple of shitty diapers and some dirty bottles as a war zone. Stefan had been running from a mad woman intent on killing him.

But then Rayna was locked up in the Armory. She had hoped he would come, but he never showed.

Days had become weeks and months and still no word.

Hope had become despair. She drove down to river practically every night.

Love had turned to hate.

She hated Stefan, but loved him at the same time and she hated how insecure it made her feel.

Stefan.

She smelt him before she saw him - leather and sandelwood with just a hint of bourbon. He was down wind of her so he didn't catch her scent. She stopped silent as a mouse and observed the scene. His reddy brown head was buried in a book. His green eyes were dark and beautiful in the fading light. His brow was furrowed in concentration, lost in a world of make believe.

She wanted to run to him, but felt rooted to the spot.

She tried to think of the words she wanted to say to him, her mind blank as a new sheet of paper.

Her old insecurities surfaced - was Stefan just trying to keep the promise he made to her mum?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the crackle of breaking twigs. Through the trees, she spotted a woman in a cop's uniform. Her mum? No, the woman was a brunette wielding a gun holding wooden bullets. Penny, Matt ' s girlfriend.

Caroline panicked and vamped away unwittingly into the path of Matt Donovan. Fortunately she was quicker than him and managed to hide herself behind some trees. Matt ' s human reflexes were no match for the blond vampire. He released a bolt anyway which hit home into Penny's neck. The scent of blood filled the air, alerting Stefan to their presence. Stefan hurried towards the fallen woman, but despite his best efforts, Penny was already dead.

Caroline fled the scene without looking back. Matt may have pulled the trigger, but she had contributed to Penny's death and she felt awful. Maybe if she had just spoken to Stefan, none of this would have happened. It felt like another nail in the coffin that was their love.

Caroline reached her car and fell into the driver's seat. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. She wanted to cry for her mum, for Stefan, for herself, but the tears never came. This had been the sign she was looking for. The sign that loving Stefan was just too damn hard, that somehow someone always got hurt. The stars should have aligned today, but they didn't. Karma is, as they say, a bitch.

Caroline decided from now on she wouldn't cry by the river anymore. She would forget all about Stefan Salvatore.

Stefan scrubbed a tired hand over his face. This night had been rough. He had compelled Matt, dragged Penny into her car and shoved a tree trunk through the front window.

He felt drained.

And Caroline never showed.

Maybe he didn't know her at all.

Maybe her new life had consumed her.

Maybe the babies had helped to fill the void left now Liz was no longer here.

The night air was cool and then he caught it. A faint smell of vanilla. Enough to give him hope. Enough to make him carry on sending the letters that were always returned.


	5. Stefan's Porsche - a Pothole Correction

It had been a month since Damon and Enzo had gone into the vault and vanished into thin air. Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan had headed back to Mystic Falls and had all moved in the Salvatore Boarding House. Stefan had signed the deeds over to Bonnie to create a safe place for her and the twins when they were in town. Caroline felt ecstatic being able to gather her four favourite people under one roof, but was acutely aware of Stefan's creeping guilt and Bonnie's feelings of loss and helplessness. So she channelled her excitement into organising the household and spearheading "Operation Denzo".

One evening after Bonnie decided to go to bed early, Caroline was perched at the kitchen counter scanning on line news items, when a warm arm snaked around her waist, a firm torso pressed gently against her back and a low husky voice whispered in her ear "Guess who?"

" Ummm I don't know. Klaus?" She replied smile on her face.

"Wow, all that work on my British accent really paid off." Stefan joked back.

He spun her chair around, drew her closer and kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling back and looking her in the eye, as if he was asking for her consent to go further. She didn't hesitate to pull him in for a second deeper kiss which made her feel giddy.

It wasn't long before they were both in their underwear and making out like a pair of teenagers on one of the couches in the Salvatore library. The sensation of the cool leather against Caroline's back sparked a memory and she suddenly sat bolt upright pushing Stefan off her. He looked at her, utterly confused by why she had stopped.

"Stefan, where's your Porsche?"

Stefan's confusion notched up a gear "What?" He managed to get out.

"I was in the garage earlier and there were three cars, my car, the Camaro and the Maserati, but no Porsche."

"Okay." Stefan's brain had yet to catch up with what was going on. "How did you suddenly skip to that? I didn't realise my kissing technique was so bad."

"It's not." She smirked playfully. "I was just thinking of the time you bet me that making out in a sports car could be fun." She blushed and Stefan's face broke into a huge grin. "Then I realised that I hadn't seen the Porsche since we came home."

Stefan's grin spread even wider at her use of 'home', then he became bashful and looked down at his hands. "I torched it." He admitted, not looking up.

"Stefan," she exclaimed. "Why? Are you a fucking idiot?"

"Well, yes, but…" He stuttered. "I did it for the insurance; I needed a bigger car."

"You have insurance?" It was Caroline's turn to be utterly perplexed, sometimes Stefan took this 'acting human' thing too far. "Why did you need a bigger car?"

"Caroline, do you know the model name of the Maserati?" He asked.

"Of course not," she scoffed.

"It's a Quattroporte. Do you know what that means?"

"Jesus, what is this? Twenty questions? No, my Spanish is terrible." She looked confused.

"Caroline, it's Italian. It means four doors. You know, easier for kids and car seats." He looked at her shyly.

Caroline's brow furrowed. "You were on the run, you nut job. Why were you thinking about kids?" Then the penny dropped. "You mean Lizzie and Josie?"

"My future stepdaughters, of course." He smiled.

"Whoa, cocky much? Were you that convinced you could win me back?" She replied.

"Look, I told you I had no idea what I was doing. To be fair though, it is a diesel and the Porsche used to drink gas and it wasn't that comfortable."

"Oh I don't know." Caroline winked. "I found it pretty comfortable."

"So do you want to christen the new car?" Stefan grinned.

Caroline nodded in assent. Moments later, she found herself leaning back against the leather car seat while Stefan whispered Italian phrases seductively in her ear.

Maybe she wouldn't miss the Porsche after all. I mean who needs German engineering when you can have Italian flair.

 **AN: I have no idea if it is a Quattroporte in TVD 7x22, I apologise if I have that wrong. After posting, I noted the typo in the title but decided to keep it cos it's amusing!**


	6. Moving in (1)

Hearing her SUV pull up outside, Stefan closed his diary, jumped up from his chair and vamped down the stairs, throwing the door open before Caroline could even get her key out. To say he was excited about her moving in was the understatement of the century.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she replied, smiling at his eagerness. She lifted her foot to enter the Salvatore Boarding House, but he had other ideas holding up his hand to stop her. Confusion spread across her face, quickly turning to giggles as he swept her off her feet and into his arms, carrying her over the threshold.

"Just wanted to do it properly." He explained, grinning.

"Erm, I thought that was for when people got married."

"It is, but I guess I'm old fashioned. Living together and getting married were synonymous in the olden days." His tone was self-deprecating, but he meant every word about doing things properly. He leant in to kiss her, gently at first, but quickly hotting up as she pushed him against the wall and made him forget all the crap that was going on around them. Eventually, they came up for air and he touched his forehead against hers, never breaking eye contact. "Hey," He murmured.

"Hey, again." She smiled. "I think we should put a pin in this and start moving some boxes. This is just the first load"

Stefan sighed, but made his way out to her car following behind her. He stopped in his tracks; the sizeable vehicle was stuffed to the gills with boxes. He had cleared some closet space, but this wasn't going to cut it. "I think a bit of remodelling may be in order. Shall we grab a couple and take them upstairs?"

"OK." She replied, pensively

Caroline went first up the stairs, the enormity of this move suddenly hitting her. She stopped at the threshold of Stefan's room, not sure what to do.

"Just pop your boxes anywhere." A voice came from behind her. Feeling fortified momentarily, she entered and placed them carefully on the table in the middle of the room. Stefan placed his on the floor and looked at her appraising her mood. "Caroline? Look, take a seat. There's something I need to ask."

Nervously, she sat down in the nearest chair. Stefan sat opposite, his fingers drumming lightly on the scarred surface of the table between them. When his junkie tic surfaced, it was a sure sign he was anxious, something she found somewhat reassuring.

"So," He started. "Firstly, I wanted to know how you really feel about this. I mean Alaric practically threw you out of your own home. I suppose I want to make sure you're here because you want to be, not because you have to be."

"Of course, I am. Bonnie offered a bed at hers, but I wanted to be here with you. Don't you want me to live here?" Insecurity bubbled under the surface.

"Caroline. I want to be with you, you're my home. Anywhere you want to go, I'll be with you every step of the way. That means that if you didn't want to live here and I can understand why you wouldn't want to, well I would happily find us another house, if you wanted to start afresh, that is."

She didn't say anything, reaching a hand across to still his twitching one. He visibly relaxed. "Well this place is a little OTT, but I'll cope. We can always make some alterations." She joked.

"Well that leads me onto my second question - which bedroom do you want to be ours?"

"This one, obviously! I mean Damon's tub is spectacular, but urgh cooties." She giggled. "Why would you ask that?"

"Look around, I'm a slob and a hoarder. This room contains 170 years of tat and ghosts of the past. You're a neat freak and you can be a little neurotic. I thought maybe you might want us to take a different room, to start over, a clean slate."

Caroline looked over Stefan's room - the antique furniture, the books, the nick nacks, the diaries. Every nook, every cranny reminded her of him and the reasons she loved him. The idea of this not being their room was just unthinkable. She closed the gap between them touching her lips to his. "No." She murmured. "This is exactly where I want to be. This is home."


	7. Moving in (2)

"Stefan. We need to talk." His head snapped up from the news report he was reading on his phone. What had he done? So far, two weeks into living with Caroline, everything felt like a dream. Her presence lifted the atmosphere in the musty old mansion, despair abated and was replaced with hope. He could swear that the whole house was filled with light.

"Okay. What's up?"

"Nothing's up, it's just…." She sidled up to him, her hands running through the blunt hairs on the back of his neck as she eased herself onto his lap.

Stefan was not convinced, but his brain struggled to engage with anything, but the tiny kisses she was peppering his neck with. He knew he was being manipulated and he didn't care. "Come on, Caroline. Something's bothering you. Spill."

"Look I don't want to mess with the gothic chic thing our room has got going on…." He grinned at the word 'our'. "And I really love my new wardrobe…. but there's a dining table in the bedroom." to emphasise her point, she slapped her hand on the offending item. "And it's weird especially when there's a desk in here as well."

Stefan glanced around their decidedly ungothic room which now had a cheerful flowery bed set, various scatter cushions and voiles at the window. Hell, up until two weeks ago, he had absolutely no idea what a voile was because Damon had never let him have input into the way their home looked. "There's a story behind the dining table."

"Oh." Caroline replied. Every possession had a tale which was why he had kept it. They had spent the last couple of weeks going through his things, sorting them, packing them away and sharing stories. She loved hearing about his life, there was so much of it they had barely scratched the surface, but their room, despite the declutter, was a little crowded.

"Hey," He lifted a finger and stroked her cheek. "When this was a proper boarding house, I ate my meals up here. I had to keep out of the way of the lodgers, so they didn't make it onto my dinner menu." He deadpanned, before breaking into a wide grin.

"Seriously?" She cuffed his arm lightly. Even with Stefan's loner tendencies, the idea of him sitting up there, eating solo, seemed awfully sad.

"Seriously, I'm sure the successive Salvatore landlords were more than happy that I didn't eat the guests, plus they got the benefit of my cooking and hunting skills. My rabbit stew and venison pie were legendary."

"How very hunter - gatherer of you. Did Damon appreciate your cooking?"

The light mood shifted at the mention of his brother. "No, his switch was off; human food held no interest for him." He paused, peeking up at her through his eyelashes. "I made this table for Damon." He looked away.

Silently, she gathered him into her arms. She felt his breath hitch a little as he buried his face in her hair, but the tension in his body eased. Instinctively, she knew he would be ok to carry on and eased away, taking her hand in his. "You made your brother a table?"

"It sounds pretty lame, doesn't it? At the turn of the last century, while I was getting my blood lust under control, my brother was running our father's lumber company and turning a decent profit, as a silent partner for obvious reasons. I got into carpentry as a distraction and it seemed like a good way to thank him, turning the fruits of his labours into something tangible. Only he hated it, moaning on about my terrible taste. It can go, no point hanging onto it."

Caroline looked down at the simple table of Virginian oak and marvelled at its age. "Stefan, we can keep the table. You made it yourself, that's amazing. There's no way it's going."

"But?"

"No buts."

"Caroline?" He said, pronouncing each syllable.

"Fine. I just wanted to make space for my mom's favourite chair. You know? The one you rescued for me when I had my little humanity flip out and threw out all my stuff."

Stefan knew how much that chair meant to her; he had worked hard to track it down and get it back. He let out a small snort. "We have space for both."

"If we want to crash into furniture every which way we turn!"

"How about we get rid of the desk? You said yourself, it's redundant and ugly."

"There's no back story to it? It didn't belong to some distant relative?" She teased.

"Nope, it's gone." He started to move the papers and books off the offending item of furniture. "Although, I do think we should, erm, christen it before it goes!"

"Stefan!" She swotted him again, then kissed him. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

 **Author's note: Stefan's room has far too much furniture and it bugs the hell out of me. Hence this fic!**


	8. June Wedding

**AN: I was inspired by the Wescola-Steroline goodness from SDCC 2016. This started as one thing and ended up totally another. A bit of Steroline fluff where Stefan channels his inner drunk Paul Wesley, with a side order of Bamon. Enjoy!**

"Hurry up, Damon. We're going to be late." Stefan's patience with his brother was wearing thin.

"Okay, keep your hero hair on! Blondie's waited years for this June wedding. Us being ten minutes late for our tux fitting isn't the end of the world." Damon's wedding interest started and ended with organising Stefan a kick ass bachelor party. If Caroline got any more manic, she was in danger of getting her neck snapped.

The brothers arrived at the discreet, high end boutique that Caroline had picked out. The sound of the old-fashioned doorbell alerted the vampire and witch to their presence. Both jumped up, Caroline planting a chaste kiss on Stefan's lips then admonishing for his tardiness, Bonnie wrapping her small frame around Damon, kissing him like they had been separated for weeks not a couple of hours.

"Urgh, you two, get a room!" Even Bonnie and Damon's OTT PDAs weren't going to dampen Caroline's mood. She was marrying Stefan in less than a month and she couldn't be happier. All her dreams had come true; after a few false starts, Stefan had become the perfect boyfriend. Actually, that wasn't true, he still made the odd small misstep, but she accepted his quirks as part of him. He was also the best stepfather to the twins, something that made her enormously happy.

"So where are these suits, you've picked out for us?" Stefan looked adoringly at Caroline.

"In the dressing rooms. Yours is through there, Stefan, and Damon's is in that one." Caroline didn't meet either of the brothers' eyes.

"Come on Steffy Bear, let's get suited and booted and give these ladies the thrill of their lives." Damon's gaze raked lasciviously over Bonnie who looked away. Weird, he thought. He walked over to the dressing room and pulled the curtain to reveal a bright fuchsia pink coloured tux with a matching ruffled 70s shirt and top hat. "Nope, Blondie, I am not wearing that, no way, no how."

"Err, Caroline. Are you sure?" Stefan's own suit was identical to Damon's, only pale pink in colour. He knew that Caroline had picked out pink and yellow for their wedding colours, but he had thought meant his buttonhole, not the whole outfit.

Caroline looked crestfallen and she burst into tears, ugly sobbing marring her beautiful face. She vamped out of the shop leaving two shocked Salvatores and a livid Bonnie in her wake.

"Get in those changing rooms, get those suits on and fake it til you make it, you idiots." She hissed. "I'll go find Caroline."

Stefan and Damon, both a little scared of Bonnie's magic, did as they were told.

"How are you doing?" Stefan asked, once he was fully dressed.

"Honestly, I look a mess. You owe me big style for this. Is it too late to back out of best man duties?"

"Yes! I dunno, Damon. This doesn't really seem Caroline's style. I…." Stefan was silenced by the sound of the girls returning.

"Let's have a look then." Caroline called in a wobbly voice.

Two curtains swooshed backed simultaneously to reveal a pair of embarrassed vampires. Damon strutted out like he was on a Paris catwalk; Stefan shambled out, head down. They were greeted by Caroline and Bonnie, camera phones in hand, grinning like cats that had got the cream.

"We've been set up," Damon exclaimed. "You minx." He grabbed Bonnie, swinging her around until she begged to be put down.

"So, you don't want us to wear this?" Stefan, confused, fiddled with the ruffles on his shirt.

"No," Caroline chewed, guiltily, on her lower lip. Stefan pulled her close, kissing her gently.

"What's this in aid of then?" He questioned between kisses.

Caroline peeked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "My actual choice is a little left field, particularly for the man whose entire wardrobe is black and grey. I thought you would have visions of 'Dumb and Dumber'". At that moment, a shop assistant appeared holding a stylish, pale blue grey tux not a ruffle in sight. Stefan still looked nervous.

"Come on, Stef," Bonnie chided. "Time to step out of your comfort zone!"

Stefan turned from Bonnie's semi threatening face to Damon's look of amusement to Caroline's hopeful gaze. With a deep sigh, he plucked the suit from the assistant's hands and headed to the dressing room. He slipped off the pink monstrosity and into the new outfit. It fitted like a glove and he actually looked okay. He stepped back out into the shop.

Caroline gasped, Bonnie grinned and gave him a thumbs up and Damon looked moderately impressed.

"Very nice," the shop assistant gushed.

Stefan stepped towards Caroline, taking her hand. "Do I pass muster?"

"You look gorgeous." The tears started to form in her eyes. "Exactly as I envisioned you."

"So, not to make this about me, but what am I going to wear?" Damon whined.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and shoved a navy-blue suit into his hands. "There you go, Salvatore. Suit up!"

"So, there's not going to be any pink at this wedding?" The penny finally dropped for Stefan.

"Nope," Caroline smiled. "I don't really like pink."

"I'm such an idiot." He mirrored her smile.

"You're my idiot." With that, she kissed him. This wedding was going to be perfect.


End file.
